Automobile.



No. 810,636. PATENTED JAN. 23, 1906.

L. B. GAYLOR.

AUTO MOBILE. APPLICATION FILED MAB.21, 1905;

UNI ED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LEONARD B. GAYLOR, OF NEWTON CENTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

' AUTOMOBILE Specification of Letters Patent.

PatentedJ' an. 23, 1906.

1'0 w ll whom it may concern.

, Be it known that I, LEONARD B. GAYLOR, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the cityof Newton Center, county of Middl'esex, State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Automobiles, of which the followin is a specification, reference being had to t e accompanying drawings, in which- Fi ure 1 illustrates a plan view of a socalle buckboard automobile embodying my invention. Fig. 2 illustrates an elevation of that which is shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 illustrates a detail of portions of the driving mechanism. Fi 4 illustrates a detail of the construction of t e edge of the driving-wheel. Fig. 5 illustrates a detail of a portion 'of the power-transmitting mechanism. In the drawings hereof I show my invention as embodied in the well-known buckboardform of automobile-runabout as an example onlyof ali ht machine to which the invention is well adapted. Obviously it can be used in conjunction withmachines of a variety of constructions. Inthe'drawings, also, I do not show manyparts usual in such constructions. They are omitted because they have no bearingupon the present invention and that the drawings may be simplified as much as possible.

My invention relates to improved driving mechanism for li ht automobiles.

It consists in the special construction and arrangement of the parts, as hereinafter described.

A representsany suitable motor. In the case shown it is bolted to cross-braces B B, which are secured to theflexible side bars C C of the frame of the buckboard, which in turn rest on suitable springs D D. Elliptical springs are shown in the present instance. The motor-shaft E has upon its forward end a friction-disk F, which is adapted to a forward-arid-backward movement of about onehalf an inch on the shaft, it being'splined thereto for this purpose. The friction-disk F engages with the friction driving-wheel G e former is slid forwardly upon the when t I motor-shaft E, thus driving the machine. When, on the other hand, .it is retracted or slid backwardly uponlthe motor-shaft, then the motor runs idle.

The means for moving the disk F forwardly and rearwardly are or may be as follows: A lever His ivoted at I to some suit: able fixed point. f

t engages with a collar J,

mg connection K with the hubL of the fricwardly under the platform of the buckboard and enga es with a pedal-lever N, ivoted at O to the rame of the machine. his ed'allever N may be provided with a racr and pawl (not shown) to maintain the pressure of the disk against the driving -wheel. The driving-wheel G mayadvantageously have its ed e faced with leather, fiber, 'or other suitab e friction-generating material, which is preferably confined between flanges on the edge of the friction driving-wheel,,as shown in Fig. 4that is to say, the edge ofthe drivlug-Wheel is flanged or bifurcated at P P and the friction-generatingmaterial Q is set between the bifurcations and fastened in place by cross-bolts R or by other suitable means. The friction-surface projects somewhat beyond the outer edges of the flanges, so that theymay not .come in contactwith the friction-disk F. Obviously the friction-generat ifng material may, if

preferred, be attached to the face of the disk F, in which case the edge of the drivingwheel vill present a metallic 'surface. The driving-wheel (it is mounted upon a tubular shaft S, through which passes asolid shaft T, the two being splined together, as shown in Fig. 3. Uis the hub of the driving wheel., It is splined, as shownin Fig. 3, to the hollow shaft S. V is a casing in which the differential gear, able construction, is inclosed. W W are two sprocket-wheels mounted on the ends (see Fig. 5,) which preferablyhas a ball-bearwhich maybe of any suitof the solid shaft T, which ends are. preferably squared for the more secure retention of the sprocket-wheels. Y Y are two other sprocket wheels bolted or otherwise attached tothe hubs Z Z of the rear or driven wheels (0 a, which revolve upon the fixed rear shaft 1). The sprocket-Wheels W, W, Y, and Y are connected by the usual sprocketchains, as shown. 0 c are two bearings fas- I oo tened to some suitable part of the frame, as

shown, which support the outer ends-of the 1 solid shaft T and are braced against the fixed rear shaft 6 by suitable brace-rods (Z d. In

2 order that the driving-wheel G maybe moved toward andv from the center of the frictiondisk F, thus increasing or decreasing the speed of the machine, and also that it ma be carried beyond the center of thus reversing the machine, it is splined to the hollow shaft S. The mechanism for so the friction- 'sk,

.moving the driving-wheel on the hollow shaft part 0 the apparatus! S' is as follows: A lever e beneaththe machine 1s pivoted atf to some fixed part of the structure and at g-engages with'ari ordinary power-transmitting collar h on the hub U of -5 the driving-wheel. A link 'iengages, as shown,' with the lever e and also with one end of a bell-crank j,-which is pivoted at 7a to some fixed part of the machine. 1 is' a rodpivoted to the other end of the bell-crank j, ro which extends forwardly and is pivotally connected with a lever m at n to'some fixed part ofthe machine. The upper end 0 of this lever is within easy reach of the hand of' the chauffeur.

'15 'From the foregoing the ope'ratio'n is obvious. When the motor is in action, its shaft E continuallyrotates the friction-disk F.- When it ,is desired to propel the mach ne, the

chauffeur or operator, throu h the instruzo mentality of the pedal-lever and its :associated parts, moves the friction-disk- F forwardly, sliding it upon the motor-shaft E until it engages with the friction edge Q of the drivin -wheel G. The position of the-edge of this w eel'relative tothe axis of the frictiondisk will" determine the speed with which the machine will be driven. rIf near the outer,

edge, the motion will be rapid. As it ap preaches the center the speed will be reduced- 0 and as it crosses the center and engages with the opposite side of the friction F the movement of the machine will be reversed.

The ineansby which the drivin -wheel G mayh'e shifted longitudinally on t e shaft S 5 through the instrumentality of the hand-lever 0 m has Been already explained. The.

ball-bearin s 7r, which I prefer to incorporate as'part of t e collar reduce the friction-and conse uent consumption of power at this am aware that it is not new to driVe'mechanisms ofthis character by means of frictiongearing, nor is it new to regulate the speed of such mechanism by moving a driving-wheel toward and from the center of a friction-disk;

but it is new to construct and arran e the parts specified by me in the manners own, and therefrom flow the followingimportant advantages in a vehicle such as contemo plated by me-that is to say, the motor is spring-supported over the axle at which its power is to be exerted, so that the expensive and elaborate construction necessary when the motor. is placed at the-qther end of the maehineis avoided; also, for small and*nec-" essarily mexpensiveness cars, like the wellknown buckboard, my construction I em.- bodies variousrfeatures, whereby the cost, weight, and number of-parts is material] ree 6o. duced; also,'the motor is raised well a ove 'the ground out of the dust and mud, which is a great desideratum in such small. and rela-" 'tively low automobiles; also; the throwing a of the motor out of gear is efiected in a most effective, easy, and simple manner, there being no complicated planetary gearing or other involved mechanism necessary; also, the

and driving-wheel act 'in the nature of flythe machine over obstructions, such as short stretches of mud or sand,whicl1 would otherwise tend to slow down the machine, because of its light weight; also; the noise of piniongearing, which is particularly noticeable 'on the .buckboard as heretofore constructed, is entirely eliminated, because of the. practically' silent action of the friction-disk and mission-chains being comparatively slight; lastly, the unlimited number ofv speeds forward andalso backward give the machine the smoothest possible act on. 4 p

This invention is intended especially for application tothe wellknown buckboard though I byno means limit myself to such application,

will be more fully'appreciated from the followfore constructed the motor has been carried. by a frame which is rigidly supported-up 0n the driven shaft,with the result'that'the weight of the motor, shaft, and driving-wheel as a jarring impulses are transmitted to the seat of the rider, and the machine is thusre'ndered tionable to all. Moreover, heretofore the power has been transmitted from the motor to the driven axle through planetary gearing, the noise of which has been extremely disa eeable. Wlll be noted that the motor is elastically or orside arso thebuckboard-platfrom,which and coacting parts being so near the point of down the flexible pl atform.

. series ofvery advantageous resultsfollow.

First. All of the weighty metallic parts, in-

driving-Wheel, the noise made by the trans-1 form of automobile heretofore invented, pat ented, and largelymanufactured by me, al-.

The advantages of the invention, however, fivhen applied to the buckboard-aUtomohile ing: In the buckboardeautomobile as hereto-1 dead weight takes every inequality in the road-surface, whereby violent .tremulo'us or uncomfortable to many persons and objec-,

yieldin ly su ported fro'mthe main reachessupport doesnot materially depress or weigh weight and momentum of the. friction disk wheelstomaintain smooth steady running'of 7'0 Under this present invention it.

I Ill in turn are directly over the rear'axle, springs,

ture, because theweightof thecounter-shaft From this construction and arrangement a is increased, and'this is desirable in so light a vehicle as the buckboard.

Second. Inequalities in the road surface are all neutralized by the interposition of the springs between the motor and the driving- .Whee

s, which encounter them. I Third. All gears of every kind are eliminated, friction mechanism being substituted therefor, and the sprockets are practically noiseless in use.

Heretofore, so far as I am aware, automobile-motors have. been supported either directly upon the driven rear shaft, as in the former construction of the buckboard, or

upon .the forward end of the frame of the vehicle, with suitable power-transmitting devices extending thence rearwardly to the driven wheels, or in some instances upon the main frame or chassis underneath the body. Either of these constructions are impractica ble in an automobile of the buckboard type, because if the motor be mounted in front it would be impractical to transmit the power to the rear, owing to the marked flexibility of the buckboard-platform, also the expense involved would so materially increase the cost of the buckboard as to render it unsaleable. Moreover, it is plainly evident that the motor and its coacting parts cannot be hung under the body of the buckboard, because there is 'no rigid platform to support them in such a vehicle, and if one were provided the expense and weight would again be prohibitive, because of the low price at which the buckboards must be sold, and if this mechanism were attached to the under side of the flexible body .it would be impractical, because the platform would be inadequate to properly and safely su port it. Hencethe advantages above re erred to of supporting the motor and coacting parts from the buckhoard side bars so that they are substantially balanced over the rear axle with springs intervening become apparent.

It will be obvious to those who are familiar with this art that modifications may be made in the details of construction without departing from the essentials of the invention. v therefore do not limit myself to such details.

I -claim- 1. In an automobile the combination of-a motor mounted upon a spring-supported frame over a fixed rear axle, a counter-shaft forward of the motor, sproo'ketkwheels on the counter shaft, sprocket chains proceeding from said s rocket -wheels direct to each motor mounted upon a spring-supported frame over a fixed rear axle, a counter-shaft forward of the motor, sprocket-wheels upon the counter-shaft, driven wheels mounted the hub of each driven wheel and sprocketchains. connecting the sprockets upon the counter-shaft with the sprockets upon the hubs of the wheels.

3. In an automobile the combination of a motor mounted upon a spring-supported frame over a fixed rear axle, a sliding frictiondisk on the shaftof the motor, a countershaft forward. of the motor having a drivingtion-disk and power conveying' devices such as chains for transmitting motion from the counter-shaft to each of the rear wheels" 4. In an automobile the combination, of a frame'over a rear axle, a counter-shaft fordriven wheels mounted upon a rear ae, power-conveying devices, such as chains, eon- -necting the counter-shaft direct with the driven wheels and means for transmittin the power of the motor to the counter-sha variable speeds.

motor, a sliding friction-disk on the shaft of the motor, a counter-shaft forward of the motor having a driving-wheel thereon presented.

moving the friction-disk and driving-wheel toward and from each other.

- 6. In an automobile the bombination of a motor, a sliding friction-disk on the shaft of the motor, a counter-shaftforward of the motor havinga driving wheel thereon presented ing the frictionfdis'k and-J driving wheel toward and-from each other and means to shift tion-dis'k. n

7. In an automobilethe combination of a frame, a counter-shaft forward ofthemotor havingfixed bearings, a slidin friction-disk on the shaft of the motor, ..'ven wheels ,mounted upon, a rear axle, powenconvying devices, such as chains, connectingthe counter-shaft direct with the driven wheels and meansfor transmitting the power of the motor tothe counter-shaft at variable speeds.

8. In an automobile the combination ofa motor, a sliding friction-disk on the shaft of the motor, a counter-shaft forward of .the'motor having fixed bearings, a driving-wheel on the'counter' shaft adapted to transverse movement relative to the friction-disk and means for transmitting the motion of the counter shaft to the driven wheels.

wheel thereon presented edgewise to the friemotor mounted upon a springsupportedward of the motor having fixed bearin s,

the driving-wheel across the face oithe -fri.c-

9 In an'automobile'the combination of a motor, a sliding friction-disk on the shaft of i the motor, a counter-shaft forward of themeloosely upon a fixed axle, sprocket-Wheels on 5. In an automobile the combination. ofa

edgewise to the friction-disk and means for edgewise to the'friction-disk, meansjfor. movmotor mounted upon a' spring-supported I IQ tor having fixed bearings, a driving-Wheel on name to this specification in the presence of the icounterishaft adalpteg to trcilmsversg two subscribing Witnesses. movement re ative to tie rictionisk an 7' means for transmitting the motion of the LEONARD Q 5 counter-shaft to the driven wheels independ- Witnessesr.

ently. JOHN L. AMBRosE,

In testimony whereof I have signed my HARRIET L. PARKER. 

